Forty-First Session - Back in the Light
Alice pulls Markoris aside for a ~Private Talk~ in an alley. Motivated by her near-death experience, Alice smooches him and they are now An Item after promising each other to stay alive. Celia and Ishaq go off to investigate/harass local religious figures at the Pantheon to see if anyone would have motive to sabotage LOTLE’s faith. Ishaq's Nat 20 Investigation check reveals that High Priest Nailth had only one apprentice who would gain his position, who has also been missing. After extensive theological discussion and speculation about whether someone might have summoned the monster in an effort to oust the Raith Empire from Azkaresh, Ishaq rationalizes that it is more likely someone in the Starred Guard, someone with at least intermediate magical ability, is behind the grim summoning. Somewhat disappointed that the Lady's chantry isn't to blame, but intellectual honest to his deduction, Ishaq asks Celia if she would like to torment some divinity anyway. She would. So then Celia and Ishaq vandalize the statue of the Sun Goddess in the Pantheon (She of the Shining Light) with Celia’s mushroom ink, with the aid of Ishaq's Greater Invisibility and Celia's ability to throw very sticky organic ink at a holy window. Meanwhile Markoris, Alice, and Max head back to Nolan’s Wind to meet the Bishop again, with Markoris and Max keeping a sharp eye out for being followed. Markoris verifies the group is being followed by the same guy as last time. Alice leaves her shield behind and adopts a messier appearance than her usual tidy self. In the tavern, the trio are left to wait and nurse drinks for half an hour while the tail watches them intensely. Max asks Markoris about the Bishop, and Markoris stresses the need to be respectful. After a while, they are led to the back room for the meeting. The Bishop is pleasantly surprised the party returned alive, yet knows nothing about the creature that was encountered. He shares that there have been incidents of dangerous beings such as djinn and fiends being summoned before, and speculates about what the Starred Guard may be up to in their tower. Alice asks if the ‘Lord of the Long Knives’ could be of assistance in this situation, and the atmosphere in the room immediately cools. The Bishop says the LOTLK’s reach doesn’t extend that far. Max perceives the Bishop is very displeased by this offer and by the mention of that name, and places a warning hand on Alice. The Bishop strongly rejects Alice’s offer that she could act as the LOTLK’s agent in aiding the Bishop’s organization. He says he doesn’t want to advertise his group’s present weakness by seeking aid from that direction. Alice says she understands. As the trio prepare to leave, Markoris asks about the tail, who is apparently named Dominic. The Bishop says he’ll be reined in, and Dominic is indeed called off after the party leaves. Neither Max or Markoris have ever heard of the Lord of the Long Knives, and they intend to ask Alice about it later after being back at the barracks. Meanwhile, Alana has been playing cards with Raul. When Ishaq and Celia return, she goes with them to visit Hepatian at the Palace. Celus, the boy's REAL DAD, escorts them to Hepatian’s room, of which Ishaq notices has an unusual lack of religious iconography. Nobility tends to beseech blessings in their natual habitat. Hepatian is in bed, much calmer than before, and is eager to help rescue Nailth by sharing information. Hepatian does not remember how he came to be in the catacombs. The last thing he remembers is finger-painting in his room, before being approached by two wrong-looking figures, who touched his forehead and sent him to a horrible place: the Nightmare Realm of the Dream Devourers. Nailth rescued him from his nightmare at the cost of being trapped behind a door himself, and Hepatian found himself in the catacombs. There, he saw the horned monster, which ‘ate the things that were worshipping it.’ This was the apparent cause of the deceased Dream Devourer portal. On the way out, Celus informs that after Hepatian’s disappearance, they found the symbol of the Dream Devourers painted on the floor of his room in his own finger paint. Ishaq asks if there’s a way to find out how many casters could have come in contact with Hepatian around the Palace within the past week, with their identities listed. Ishaq’s theory, which he shares, is that someone enchanted Hepatian into drawing the symbol, either by a use of Geas or Dominate, or someone entered his room and drew it themselves, thereby summoning the Devourers. He emphasizes the former as more likely, especially as Celus doubts anyone could even Dimension Door their way into the child's room. Celus estimates that maybe 1 - 2 dozen casters come into contact with Hepatian around the Palace even within the past week, and those are mainly Starred Guard. He’s doubtful it will be possible to get a list of names, and is completely certain no one could have snuck into his room, as the entire Palace is warded against teleporting intruders and strongly guarded. The team reunites at the Crownsguard barracks and debriefs. Ishaq strongly advises everyone to be on-guard against at least one powerful caster with the ability to control or influence minds, and who probably knows exactly who they are and what they plan to do. Celia names the monster they encountered a ‘Nightwalker,’ and it sticks. The Keepers take a long rest for the night, and in the morning an inspirational speech from Ishaq boosts everyone with 14 temporary hit points. Then everyone goes shopping before they descend once again into the catacombs. Max gets an assortment of weird survivalist stuff, including ball bearings, a healer’s kit, and holy water. Markoris buys potions of healing and necrotic resistance. Celia buys a +1 Breastplate to boost her AC. She finally has a stronger AC than that of a sorcerer. Ishaq is interested in an Ioun Stone, a powerful relic, but it’s 6000 gold and the state seized all his Host Radiant tithes years ago. The shopkeep shares that it was sold by an old wizarding family that has fallen on hard times and seen the gift and interest dwindle. Max takes note of this and arranges for them to maybe contact the party if they have any more artifacts to sell, because hard times could be motive for desperate casters to summon ugly things. The Keepers then return to the Tower of the Starred Guard to be deputized with badges of authority. They then meet their new allied battalion that will assist them on this mission, a rag-tag group that they are told are not to be treated as expendable. Session ends with the party about to re-enter the catacombs that they barely escaped from during their last visit...